freshoffthefarm | [AU] ... from the 'meet at a different time' meme

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[AU] ... from the 'meet at a different time' meme

After two years at the Agency, Annie's job hadn't gotten any better (or worse). Sure, it had it's downsides - namely, being shot at (or being shot), but the biggest one had to be the Agency parking lot.

She could never, ever find a parking spot.

Of course, the morning that she'd gotten up early and proceeded to spill coffee on her first outfit, had to jump start her car and then fill a tire with air? She managed to get behind the chatty son-of-a-bitch in the compensation car at the guard shack. She sat there, plotting the ways to key his car without actually getting caught and then he'd moved on.

Smiling at the guys in the shack, she showed her ID, waited until they'd looked under her cars with mirrors, and then picked up the pace on the way to the agent parking lot.

It just wasn't her morning.

The short cut she took through the visitor lot took her right past the spots in front for all the diplomats and the Agency hotshots. She didn't see Mr. Compensation trying to adjust his parking until she'd plowed into his rear bumper.

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"A lot of people think that what happens in Liam Niesson movies happens in real life."

It wasn't meant to make light of the situation, but it was the only way he could think of to describe it. "Your sister doesn't know that she should be proud of you for what you do. It'll happen someday though."

"Someday."

She didn't want to tell him that she'd potentially brought a hazard into her sister's house and that she'd forced her sister and nieces to stay in a hotel over night and that she'd just recently taken her sister into the middle of a gun fight. Not tonight.

"So, I think I have ice cream for dessert. If you're interested?" She just wasn't hungry anymore.

He figured he'd give her a little of his own experiences, "I was lucky in that respect. My mother and father met while working on an intelligence project, he worked for the CIA, she broke Russian code for the NSA. She knew my application for The Agency was accepted before I did."

Clay hoped that Annie believed him when he said someday, he did mean it. Though at the mention of ice cream he perked up a little, "Does anyone say no to ice cream?"

"That's kind of neat about your parents." She stood to take out their plates and deal with the ice cream issue. "You already said you go horseback riding with your mom. Doesn't your dad like to ride?"

She set the plates in the sink and rinsed them before reaching into the freezer.

"From what I remember he did. He died when I was eight." He said it just because it was a fact, not in any way that would indicate he was upset that his father died when he was eight.

She froze for just a moment where she was standing and then set the ice cream down on the counter before turning to look at him. He looked like he was okay with what he'd just said and yet she felt a sense of loss for him. Maybe because both of her parents were gone -- which he likely knew already.

"I'm sorry." Her sincerity was there for him to see and hear.

Clay nodded just a little, "Thank you."

His goal was to find out what happened to his father before his mother died. She needed some kind of closure, and he planned on going up high enough in the Agency's hierarchy to give her that.

Turning back to the ice cream, she filled two bowls with enough to be dessert, but not what she'd normally do after depressing herself and, after adding spoons, she went back out into the living room.

She folded herself onto the couch next to him and handed his to him with a small smile. "I didn't mean to bring tonight down."

Clay ate a spoonful of ice cream before responding, "You didn't. Getting to know someone means finding out about the good times in their lives and the bad ones. We all have some of each, and if you don't you're usually a very bland person."

"I'd like to get to know you," she told him honestly before taking a bite of her own. She hoped he knew that, had at least gleaned that much information from the kisses they'd shared. "As much as you want to share."

"I'd like you to get to know me. If there's something you'd like to know that I'm not sharing, please ask."

If he could answer it he would. Mac's biggest problem with him was that he wasn't honest enough with her. Hopefully, he'd be able to prevent that with Annie to the best of his ability.

"Okay." She tried to think of something. "What year were you born?"

It sounded a little nicer in her head than 'how old are you?', though once she said it, it was obvious she was asking just how far apart in age they were. She tried to work around it. "I mean, if you competed in the '88 Olympics..."

And he didn't think her first question was going to be the one that he was sure was going to end their relationship, "1962."

It was true, her jaw dropped a little, but she also laughed when she closed her mouth and she shook her head.

"Oh, no. I thought-" She snickered again. "I thought there was only a decade between us. Maybe twelve years. Not twenty."

"Oh. Well, then thank you." He was a little uncomfortable, but she didn't tell him to get off her couch so he took it as a good sign.

"And it is almost exactly 20 years."

She wasn't close to telling him to get off her couch and she grinned at him, reaching out to take his hand. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, as long as it doesn't bother you."

He assumed it didn't since she was holding his hand.

"It doesn't bother me," she said quietly, squeezing his hand carefully. She only let go to take another bite of her ice cream.

Clay hoped that it didn't bother her if they got more serious. He smiled anyway when he felt her squeeze his hand, "I'm glad."

Annie finished her ice cream not that long after and set her bowl down on her coffee table before turning back to him.

"I just don't want this to bother you if..." She bit her lip. "If this goes any further." A pause. "Like I hope it does."

"No, it doesn't bother me. Hearing it said out loud the first time was a little strange, that's all."

He finished his ice cream and put the bowl down on the table next to Annie's, "And I hope it goes further too."

"Sorry."

Once he'd set the bowl down, she felt an almost overwhelming urge to curl up next to him. Instead, she resisted (barely), and took a deep breath. "Movie?"

"No reason to be sorry. My age was going to come up eventually." He didn't know how their respective families were going to take it, but right now, this was good for him.

"Movie sounds great."

Motioning to her DVD case, which held all of twenty movies, she said, "This is your date night, you pick."

Frankly, Annie didn't care what her sister said about his age. She knew that Danielle would just be happy that she was dating someone.

Clay got up and took the ice cream bowls in the kitchen before going over to Annie's movie collection and selecting Casablanca.

"Casablanca okay?"

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